Kelly Doran
Dr. Doran is a microbiologist with a broad background in microbiology and innate immunology with expertise working with a variety of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens including Streptococcus. Specifically she study’s host - pathogen interactions in the central nervous system (CNS) and the female reproductive tract, using Group B streptococcus (GBS) as a model organism. Her research program seeks to elucidate the mechanisms by which GBS colonizes the vaginal tract and penetrates the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in order to cause CNS infection, as well as characterize host response and defense during colonization and disease progression. Using a variety of molecular genetic approaches, her research team seeks to discover and characterize bacterial virulence determinants involved in cytotoxicity, adherence, invasion, inflammation, and resistance to host cell defenses. She also investigates the contribution of host factors such as surface receptors, signal transduction pathways, and transcription factors in defense against invasive bacterial infection. A better understanding of the pathogenesis of GBS colonization and disease may provide a basis for the development of new treatments or preventative therapies.
Abstracts this author is presenting: